Grilled Street Corn with Chimayo Butter

This grilled street corn is an instant hit at any cookout. Par-boiled until just tender, then charred over the fire and basted in a smoky Chimayo chile butter, it takes plain corn and turns it into a full-on fiesta. Sweet, a little heat, a hit of smoke, and a bright squeeze of lime to pull it all together.

The Chimayo butter is the whole move here. Smoked paprika, cayenne, garlic, a touch of sugar, and Chimayo chile melt together with fresh lime juice, and you baste it on in layers while the corn picks up grill marks. We reach for Chimayo over ancho for its gentle, earthy heat, but either works. A handful of oak chips on the coals adds a quiet smoke that pushes this over the top.

Grilled Street Corn with Chimayo Butter

Recipe by The BBQ HawksCourse: Side DishCuisine: BBQ, MexicanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

10 to 12

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• For the Corn

• 6 white corn cobs, cleaned

• Oil, for the grates

• Optional: oak wood chips or chunks, for smoke

• For the Chimayo Butter

• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter

• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

• 1/2 tsp Chimayo or ancho chile powder

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 tsp coarse kosher or sea salt

• 1/2 tsp brown sugar or turbinado sugar

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• Juice of 1 large lime

• To Finish

• 1 large lime, cut into wedges (grilling optional)

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro

• Flaky sea salt

Directions

• Par-boil. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the corn over high heat for about 6 minutes, then drain.
• Make the Chimayo butter. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the smoked paprika, cayenne, Chimayo chile, garlic, salt, brown sugar, black pepper, and the juice of 1 lime. Stir until everything is dissolved and combined.
• Cut. Trim the ends off each cob and cut it into 3 equal mini-cobs.
• Smoke and grill. If using, add a few oak chips or a chunk or two to the fire. Set the corn on a clean, oiled grate over medium-high heat and grill, basting often with the Chimayo butter, until grill marks appear, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
• Finish. Move the corn to a platter, squeeze over a little more lime, and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges, grilling the wedges too if you like.

One to pour alongside: this corn was made for our Award-Winning Santa Maria Tri-Tip over Oak and a glass of Tempranillo. We first served it with our friend and vintner Shannon Jones’s 2009 Hestia Tempranillo, a full-bodied Spanish grape that fit the Spanish and Mexican SoCal spirit of the meal perfectly.